DAMAGE CONTROL

It looks like RNC chairman is doing a little damage control, or back pedaling, on the statements he made during an interview with GQ magazine.

From Salon this morning:

Steele does damage control on abortion remarks

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is trying to get himself out of the hot water he landed himself in during his recent interview with GQ, in which he made some apparently pro-choice remarks about abortion. It may be too late.

Steele is "reaching out to anti-abortion leaders," Politico's Ben Smith reports, and he's put out this statement:

I am pro-life, always have been, always will be.

I tried to present why I am pro life while recognizing that my mother had a "choice" before deciding to put me up for adoption. I thank her every day for supporting life. The strength of the pro life movement lies in choosing life and sharing the wisdom of that choice with those who face difficult circumstances. They did that for my mother and I am here today because they did. In my view Roe vs. Wade was wrongly decided and should be repealed. I realize that there are good people in our party who disagree with me on this issue.

But the Republican Party is and will continue to be the party of life. I support our platform and its call for a Human Life Amendment. It is important that we stand up for the defenseless and that we continue to work to change the hearts and minds of our fellow countrymen so that we can welcome all children and protect them under the law.

......Smith also reports, some heavyweights of social conservatism -- who already had problems fully trusting Steele because of his past alliances with moderates -- are skeptical.

"I expressed my concerns to the chairman earlier this week about previous statements that were very similar in nature," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in a statement. "He assured me as chairman his views did not matter and that he would be upholding and promoting the Party platform, which is very clear on these issues. It is very difficult to reconcile the GQ interview with the chairman's pledge."

And then there's this from Salon also:

Blackwell, Huckabee slam Steele over abortion

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is taking heavy fire from social conservatives over the apparently pro-choice leanings he discussed in his recent interview with GQ. In particular, two important figures -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell -- have come out with sharp denunciations of Steele's comments.

*****************

Blackwell's criticism is especially interesting. He ran against Steele for the RNC chairmanship, but his unexpected endorsement midway into the voting process ultimately helped deliver the post to Steele. And yet Blackwell was far rougher in his response to the GQ interview than Huckabee was.

"Chairman Steele, as the leader of America's Pro-Life conservative party, needs to re-read the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the 2008 GOP Platform," Blackwell told the conservative Web site Townhall. "He then needs to get to work -- or get out of the way."

Meanwhile, on his blog, Huckabee said:

Comments attributed to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are very troubling and despite his clarification today the party stands to lose many of its members and a great deal of its support in the trenches of grassroots politics. Since 1980, our party has been steadfast and principled in believing in the dignity and worth of every human life. We have supported a Constitutional amendment to protect life and the party has taken the position that no one individual has the supreme right to own another person in totality including the right to take that life. For Chairman Steele to even infer that taking a life is totally left up to the individual is not only a reversal of Republican policy and principle, but it's a violation of the most basic of human rights--the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. His statement today helps, but doesn't explain why he would ever say what he did in the first place.

Looks like Limpball's chew-toy has quit a few people in his party pissed off.

Me thinks he's got allot more 'splanin' to do.